Payback
by lalalei
Summary: Post "Bro Bots", Roll decides the best way for her to help Mega out of a bad mood is to pick a fight with Protoman and win. But can she, when he's defeated her every other time they've met? Ruby-Spears cartoonverse.


It wasn't like Protoman _didn't_ have anything better to do than go looking to fight his brother. He just couldn't _think_ of anything better to do. Heat Man and Needle Man had been summarily scrapped after their failure at rigging Governor Deacon's election, and Proto didn't feel like sticking around to recycle what was left of them. Dark Man he could've hung around with, but he was being repaired, and the other Robot Masters were busy fixing the Skullker. Wily himself was no help, either. Last Proto had checked the Doc was trying to come up with a new scheme to conquer the world after their failure to capture Brain Bot.

Left to his own devices, the only thing Protoman could think of would be to go after Megaman.

"Trouble is," he muttered, "_how_? I know where Light's lab is, but it's not like I could just walk in there…not after what I did," he added with a slight smirk. Gaining his family's trust and betraying them had been one part of the plan that'd worked perfectly. But it also meant he couldn't go to them. Mega would have to come to him, and that was the tricky part. He _could_ cause general chaos, but generally Wily's schemes were enacted with more than one robot, and there was a chance the police would show up instead. They weren't _nearly_ as competent as he was, but too many cops on the scene would lessen the chance of his brother arriving.

"Even if Mega did show up then," Proto grumbled, playing out the scenario in his mind, "his sister or his dog would tag along too. Always have to be wherever he is, or we are…"

Proto stood up, an idea forming.

"Then I just need to make sure he comes alone."

He grinned and headed to the inner lab. Wily would be mad, but not _too_ mad. Not when he heard this plan. It wasn't expensive, either.

"Hey Doc," Protoman called as he entered without knocking, "you think you could put an ad in the paper?"

#######

Roll was unhappy. More to the point, she was unhappy to see Megaman unhappy. Her brother hadn't been the same since Protoman had suddenly made his way into their family and left just as quickly. He'd pretended to be good, gained their trust by stopping a few Wilybots, and backstabbed them to further the mad doctor's scheme. Even the knowledge that they'd stopped it, that Governor Deacon was safe, hadn't done much to cheer him. Mega wasn't even _awake_ yet, and it was almost 11 o'clock!

What hurt Roll even more was that _she_ had believed him, too. She'd trusted Protoman along with Dr. Light and dismissed her brother's concerns until it was too late. Roll felt partially responsible for the mood her brother was in…and that she needed to do something to help.

"I want to go after Wily and his 'bots," she confided to Rush. "I know Mega'd probably protest, but he knows I can fight by now. You saw me defend Brain Bot," she added with a grin.

"Yeah! Fight," Rush barked, making boxing motions with his paws. Roll laughed and scratched him behind his ears.

"…Not only that, but Wily—no, _Protoman_—needs to pay for what he's done. _He_ was the one that hurt Megaman so badly."

"Yeah! Yeah! Make 'em pay!" Rush yipped. He nuzzled against her, but suddenly stopped, ears twitching and alert.

"What is it, boy?"

Barking, Rush trotted to the front door of Light's lab and—after crashing into the doggy door—retrieved the morning paper. He gave it to Roll, eyes wide and expectant.

"Thanks, Rush! Here's a battery biscuit for a job well done," Roll said with a smile, pulling out the treat and tossing it to him. Then she picked up the paper, unrolling it and flipping through the sections. Normally she would've headed for the entertainment section or the shopping coupons, passing the rest onto Dr. Light and Mega, but a classified ad caught her eye.

Roll focused on it and nearly dropped the paper.

**Hey, Megaman! You wanted to pay me back for our little family disagreement, right, bro? Meet me at the park where we met _that_ day at midnight tonight. And don't bring your sister _or_ your dumb dog—this is a one-on-one fight. That is, if you're not scared!**

**-Protoman**

**P.S.: To all you police robots hanging around, you know what I'd do if I saw you, human police included. Stay outta this if you know what's good for you.**

Changing her Utility Arm to a small pair of scissors, Roll clipped the ad out of the paper and handed the rest to Rush as if nothing was wrong.

"Take this to Dr. Light and Mega, alright?"

The robot dog whimpered, pawing at her pant leg as if asking her to reconsider.

"Keep quiet and I'll give you another battery biscuit. Besides, _you_ told me to go out and fight," she reminded him. Rush's ears dropped at that; she was right. Patting him, Roll gave him a treat as promised.

Rush rushed off, and Roll went to oil the Sky Cycle and watch the clock anxiously.

"If they ask what happened to the paper, I'll say I found an ad for a garage sale. If they ask why I'm going out at night—if they catch me—I'll say I wasn't tired enough to recharge. And if they find out what I'm doing…"

She shrugged.

"I'll say I'll be fine."

######

Almost midnight, and still no sign of his brother. Proto doubted he'd turned chicken—he'd never known Mega to back down from a fight except when others were in danger. Was it possible he simply hadn't seen it? Maybe Light hadn't brought in the paper that day. At 12 o'clock sharp, one by one, the lights in the park went out as it began to close, and Proto was alone.

"Maybe I shouldn't have gotten Gutsman to print the ad," Protoman muttered, his scarf fluttering in the breeze. He turned away, but stopped as he heard the quiet whoosh of a vehicle. Looking around, he saw a Sky Cycle land nearby, its hood preventing anyone from seeing inside.

It _had_ to be Megaman, though. No one else would be dumb enough to come out here alone.

"'Bout time you showed up, bro," Proto sneered, readying his arm cannon. "I was getting tired of waiting."

"You're gonna have to wait longer, Protoman," Roll cried, unlatching the hood and stepping out where he could see her. "You're fighting _me_!"

Protoman blinked behind his sunglasses, lowering his blaster.

"…Didn't he show you the ad? It said _no help allowed_, girl-bot."

"No help's _around_, buster. Just you and me," Roll cried, Utility Arm at the ready. "I want payback for what you did to my brother!"

"Aww, I _did_ hurt his feelings. Nice to know," he snickered. "Now go on home and bring your brother here before I get angry. You know you can't fight me without getting hurt. Remember all those other times?"

Roll grimaced, trying to not let him get to her. "That was only twice, and you grabbed me from behind!"

Proto shrugged. "I fight to win."

"You fight dirty," Roll snapped, clenching a fist.

"I'm _so _hurt. Seriously though, go get Mega. Fighting you would be a waste of my time."

Roll smirked, deciding to play to his ego. "You sure about that? I _did_ blow up Wily's missiles with a buzz saw _and _rescued Brain Bot from Wily with a vacuum cleaner. My Utility Arm can beat your plasma cannon any day!"

Proto offered her a smirk, though it seemed genuine. "I'll admit that _was_ pretty fancy with that saw. But as for the rest? Hah! No way you can beat me."

"Oh yeah?" Roll challenged, hands on her hips.

Protoman grinned.

"You wanted a fight? You got it," he sneered, aiming at Roll and firing.

Roll switched her Utility Arm to a net first off, attempting to catch the blasts. The shots she did manage to catch tore through, but slowed them down enough for her to duck them. Roll gasped and stumbled forward from the discharge behind her. When the smoke cleared, she saw Protoman was smirking, unruffled.

"My turn," she growled, switching to a dark-colored reverse vacuum. Her vacuum attachment was one of her favored weapons, and while she didn't know if it would _do_ anything to him, it was industrial-strength and a better choice if she wanted to absorb any plasma bursts. She aimed it at Protoman, and while he was pushed back slightly, his scarf nearly horizontal from the sudden wind, he didn't seem too fazed.

"That all you got? You're nothing," he stated, firing at her again without moving from his spot.

Roll grinned, her Utility Arm forming into her standard, white vacuum. Focusing on the plasma shot nearest her, she activated the vacuum and successfully sucked the blue energy up.

"Take that," she cried, letting the plasma loose. Proto was forced to dodge, and as he did she ran closer, her Utility Arm forming into a cake mixer. Turning it onto its highest setting, she pointed it at him, trying to move close enough to damage him.

Protoman simply sidestepped and pushed her aside. Before she could switch to a plunger to at least soften the fall, Roll hit the ground. Her cake mixer made a grinding sound as it impacted with dirt and stone, and sparks flew when she tried to reactivate it.

_Great_. He'd broken an attachment already. Roll slumped to the ground.

"Had enough," Proto mocked, smirk firmly plastered on his face and one hand on his hip. When she didn't move, he walked closer to her. Roll was unresponsive.

"Heh. Guess so."

"Not a chance, mister," Roll shot back, changing her Utility Arm to a hairdryer. Aiming at the ground beneath them, she turned it on and kicked up a cloud of dust. Protoman was forced to wipe at his face, the dirt and smoke clinging to his shades. When the dust settled, Roll had disappeared.

"Playin' hide and seek," he called, turning around, blaster at the ready. When he didn't get an answer, Proto fired at a nearby tree, reducing it to burning splinters. Roll wasn't behind it, and he didn't hear any footsteps—maybe she was above him? He walked around, looking up at the remaining trees cautiously.

"No, we're playing tag," Roll chimed in from somewhere high up. So she _was_ above him. Proto looked up and saw her swinging towards him on what looked like a plumber's snake. He ducked and she swung past him, landing on the ground behind him.

"A plumber's snake, eh? Got you cleaning toilets? I can see why you want out," Proto jeered, blasting at her as she landed. Roll was launched backwards by the force of the shots and hit the ground hard, though she noted that he hadn't been aiming directly at her. Even now, Protoman was just toying with her.

Roll stood up, switched to a lightbulb and aimed it directly at his face. "Lights out," she quipped, firing it at him. Protoman blocked it with his forearm, but the filament and glass shattered upon impact. Before he could react further, Roll switched her Utility Arm to a frying pan and ran in close, trying to bash him over the head with the heavy weapon. Proto managed to grab her wrist, but she kicked at him, making him stumble back.

Scowling, Proto threw her over his head, aimed his buster at her and fired, but Roll used the frying pan to block the shots. The plasma damaged the cast-iron frame, and it would probably be unusable now, but it had bought her time. Roll's Utility Arm changed to an ice-shooting fan. If she could freeze _lava_, she could freeze Protoman. Activating the weapon, she aimed at his feet, and managed to anchor him in place—though when she moved in for a close-range attack, he backhanded her to the ground.

"You think this can stop me? I'll free myself in a nanosecond, and I doubt you can keep this up," Proto grinned, keeping calm and chipping at the ice with his buster.

Roll sat up and switched to one of her most dangerous weapons—a pointed blender. With a cry, she leapt at Protoman, and before he could shake her off she had nicked his shoulder with the blade. Cheering at her first real damage to him, Roll stepped back, cautious. It was only then that she realized she'd also damaged his scarf. A torn piece of it fluttered off and landed on the ground. Proto's smirk faded.

"Try that again and you're scrap metal," he growled. Breaking free of the ice, he charged at Roll, firing six shots in the span of six seconds. She couldn't dodge them all. The third shot caught her side, and the fifth hit her leg, sending her sprawling. Roll cried out, but managed to sit up. Before she could stand, Proto stood over her. While she couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, she could tell they were blazing with anger.

Roll tried to buy time. "Uh…I'm sorry?"

"Quiet," Protoman snarled, blasting at her again, and she realized he was furious now. Carefully nudging his tattered scarf behind his shoulder, Proto stooped down and aimed his blaster directly at her. Roll's shoulders slumped. She couldn't win against Protoman after all. There would be no way for her to defend herself right now—his cannon was much faster than her arm. The only way she could think to survive would be to attack, and she wasn't sure if she could do that. She wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough.

But…

Protoman was more concerned over an article of clothing than about what he'd done to their family. What'd he done to her.

What he'd done to Mega.

Roll launched herself up, Utility Arm switching to an axe, and she sliced at him midleap. Surprised, Proto stepped back, grunting as the blade cut across his forearm. He whipped around and blasted at her, the second shot catching her other side, but she stood up. Running behind him, Roll switched to her final weapon—the buzz saw they'd spoken of earlier.

"This is payback for what you did to my brother, Protoman," she snarled. The saw whirred with activity, and Proto raised his blaster, ready to fire.

Roll fired the saw blade, the weapon curving in an arc, too slim to blast out of the sky and too small for Protoman to dodge completely. While the saw didn't reach any vital areas, it made contact with his face, piercing the side of his sunglasses and some synthetic skin. Protoman groaned and reached for his shades, and they cracked in his grip. At the same time, he fired at Roll. Plasma hit home on her Utility Arm, and she cried out as her source of weapons sparked and shorted out. She stumbled, but caught herself, clutching her wounded arm.

The two combatants stood there, silently. Roll was hurt, bruised, and weaponless. She knew if he wanted, Protoman could scrap her like he threatened.

But she also knew that while she hadn't disabled his blaster, she had damaged something far more valuable to Protoman—his pride. She had immobilized him with ice. She had dodged his plasma shots and even returned fire. She had torn his scarf and shattered his sunglasses.

Protoman stood there for a long while and turned away, blaster forming back into his left hand, a hint of a smirk returning to his face.

"Well…You got your revenge and I got my fight. Guess we'll call it even. Though you're nowhere near as good a fighter as my brother."

Roll shrugged. "I'm at least as good as you. Though I'd like it if you apologized for hurting Mega. _Then_ we'll call it even."

"Don't count on it," Proto added with a laugh, beginning to walk away. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

"Same to you, Protoman," Roll called back, shaking a fist.

Proto disappeared so quickly that Roll wondered if he had still been going easy on her after all. As she headed to the Sky Cycle, she paused, noticing something near where he'd been, on the ground. Roll picked it up with her good arm.

It was a piece of Protoman's scarf.


End file.
